In recent times, blockchain currencies have seen increased usage over traditional fiat currencies by consumers who value anonymity and security. Currencies that use a blockchain, such as cryptographic currencies (“cryptocurrencies”), offer consumers a currency that is decentralized and relatively anonymous and secure in its use. For example, a transaction that is posted to a blockchain may not require any information regarding the sender or recipient of the currency, and thus may enable the payer and payee of a transaction to retain anonymity. Such an aspect of blockchain transactions may be highly desirable for consumers that wish to maintain their privacy, and may help reduce the likelihood of fraud due to theft of their information.
However, while blockchain currencies can often provide such safety and security for the payer's information, such security may be limited for payees, particularly due to the limitations of the blockchain. For example, it often takes a significant amount of time, around ten minutes, for a blockchain-based transaction to be processed, due to the computer processing time and resources required to verify and update the blockchain. Conversely, traditional fiat payment transactions that are processed using payment networks often have processing times that are measured in nanoseconds. As a result, consumers and merchants that are accustomed to fast transaction times are often either forced to wait a significant amount of time for a blockchain transaction to be conducted, or the payee must rely on the payer's good faith that their transfer will be valid. In such latter instances, the anonymity of the blockchain may leave the payee at a disadvantage, because the inability for the payee to identify the payer may prohibit the payee from utilizing various risk or fraud detection methods. Therefore, many entities, particularly merchants, retailers, service providers, and other purveyors of goods and services, may be wary of accepting blockchain currency for products and participating in blockchain transactions.
In addition, the consumers themselves may often be reluctant to using blockchain currencies. Because blockchain currencies are decentralized and rely on the blockchain to keep track of what accounts have access to what amount of currency, it can be difficult for consumers to adopt, or even understand, blockchain currencies, particularly in relation to well-known and understood traditional fiat currencies and accounts. This may be particularly troublesome for consumers that are accustomed to having financial institutions hold their currency in an account. The nature of blockchain currencies is that the access to any given address to which currency is associated is controlled based on possession of electronic credentials, often referred to as an electronic wallet, e-wallet, or simply “wallet.” As such, if the wallet is lost, discarded, or stolen, the associated currency often cannot be recovered by the rightful owner and may be used without their knowledge and permission. Furthermore, because of the anonymous nature of the blockchain, the consumer may be unable to prove their identity and ownership of a wallet, and thereby have little recourse if their wallet and/or associated currency is stolen.
Thus, there is a need to improve on the storage and processing of transactions that utilize blockchain currencies. Existing payment networks and payment processing systems that utilize fiat currency are specially designed and configured to safely store and protect consumer and merchant information and credentials and to transmit sensitive data between computing systems. In addition, existing payment systems are often configured to perform complex calculations, risk assessments, and fraud algorithm applications extremely fast, as to ensure quick processing of fiat currency transactions. Accordingly, the use of traditional payment networks and payment systems technologies in combination with blockchain currencies may provide consumers and merchants the benefits of the decentralized blockchain while still maintaining security of account information and provide a strong defense against fraud and theft.